This invention relates to adjustable shelving systems and more particularly comprises an improved system wherein one or more shelf brackets is permanently secured to the shelf and wherein the bracket or brackets may be slid along the shelf to accommodate the location of mounting standards to which the bracket or brackets is connected and further which enables the bracket or brackets to be moved between an operative position essentially perpendicular to the shelf and a stored position in a plane closely adjacent and parallel to the shelf.
For a very long time shelving systems have been available both for commercial and home use, which allow the shelves to be raised or lowered to best serve the intended functions of the shelves. The most common of these systems includes two standards which are secured to a wall and have a series of slots in their front faces, which receive a mounting fixture at the rear end of each shelf-supporting bracket. The shelves come in a variety of sizes and in many instances the mounting fixtures on the brackets enable the shelves to be supported either in a horizontal or an inclined plane depending upon the intended use.
In the basic system described, the brackets are not permanently attached to the shelves but rather are separate units which are attached to the standards independently of the shelves. Only after the brackets are mounted on the standards are the shelves placed on the brackets. Therefore, uniform spacing of the standards and mounting the standards in a precisely vertical orientation is not required. Each bracket is mounted independently of the others as well as independently of the shelves, and therefore complete flexibility is afforded the person assembling the system. A disadvantage of such systems, however, is that when the shelves and brackets are stored, they become separated from one another and the brackets are frequently misplaced.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,469,543, an improved shelf construction is shown wherein the brackets are permanently secured to the shelf so that the brackets cannot be misplaced or lost. In accordance with the '543 patent, the brackets are in fixed positions at the ends of the shelf, and therefore require that the standards be precisely mounted a prescribed distance apart and in true vertical orientation so that the spacing between the adjacent standards is the same at the bottom and top. In the system of the '543 patent, unless the standards are mounted the prescribed distance apart and vertically true, the shelf cannot be mounted on the standards by means of the fixed brackets. A feature of the '543 shelf system is that the brackets which are permanently connected to the shelf at fixed locations may be pivoted between an erect or operative position, and a stored position wherein the brackets lie closely adjacent to and in a plane parallel to the plane of the shelf. When so stored, the shelves may be stacked in a compact column or be packaged in a container of minimum size.
In accordance with the present invention, the adjustable shelving system is improved by providing the brackets with the ability to move along the shelf so as to be connected to standards of any spacing but at the same time maintaining the permanent connection between the brackets and shelf. While the brackets are slidably movable along the length of the shelf, they may also be folded to a stored position wherein they lie in a plane closely adjacent and parallel to the plane of the shelf.
Other prior art patents known to applicant are U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,785,301; 4,036,369; and 4,381,715. The '301 patent shows an adjustable shelf structure having a rigid wire mounted at each end of the shelf. The wire, however, is not pivotable but rather is permanently disposed essentially in the plane of the shelf. The '369 patent is functionally similar to '301. The '715 patent shows a bracket support which includes a shaft threaded at its ends so that it may be screwed into a stud, and the support shafts slide in elongated chambers formed in the shelf. The support shafts are not pivotally secured to the shelf, but rather are held in place by spring clips and may be removed.
The principal object of the present invention is to provide an adjustable shelving system wherein the brackets are permanently secured to the shelf so that they cannot be lost or otherwise separated from the shelf but are free to slide along the shelf to accommodate different standard spacings, and which also are capable of being pivoted between an operative position wherein the brackets lie essentially perpendicular to the shelf and a stored position wherein the brackets lie in very close proximity to the shelf.
This invention will be better understood and appreciated from the following detailed description read with reference to the accompanying drawings.